If you read this site closely, you’ll know that there are few filmmakers we admire more than Iranian director Jafar Panahi, whose work has consistently challenged the country’s social strictures, especially as they pertain to women. (To name a few: The Mirror, The Circle, Offside, and Crimson Gold, the latter of which made our collective Top 50 Of The Decade list.) Panahi’s views have gotten him in trouble with the authorities before—last summer, we reported that he, his wife, and his daughter were arrested during a public mourning for slain election protestors—and now he’s been scooped up in the latest government crackdown on dissidents. According to the website of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition candidate he strongly supported in the dubious election that kept Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in office, Panahi, his wife, and his daughter, along with 15 dinner guests, were arrested at his home on Monday night and are currently being detained in an undisclosed location.
Here’s the scene at last September’s Montreal World Film Festival, where “Green Revolution” supporters greeted Panahi (who was jury president) on the red carpet. The relevant action starts around minute two: